Courtesy of Benzinga.
With the final trading hour upon on Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.47 percent to 17,057.06 while the NASDAQ declined 2.64 percent to 4,386.11. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.67 percent to 1,967.94.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell around 0.33 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included United Rentals (NYSE: URI), up 2.84 percent, and Nature's Sunshine Products (NASDAQ: NATR), up 2.73 percent.
In trading on Thursday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.99 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Cloud Peak Energy (NYSE: CLD), down 4.47 percent, and JinkoSolar Holding Co (NYSE: JKS), off 5.08 percent.
Top Headline
A Malaysian Airline was downed in the Ukraine this afternoon. Speculation is that the plane was shot down by Russian missile defenses. The airliner was flying in hostile air. Over 200 people died, 295 have been reported to be on the plane. Reuters images showed complete destruction along with unverified video of the smoke from the wreak. Markets sold off promptly.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter.
The bank’s quarterly profit jumped 47% to $1.9 billion, or $0.94 per share, from a year-ago profit of $1.0 billion, or $0.43 per share. Its adjusted earnings from continuing operations excluding DVA came in at $0.91 per share. However, its earnings excluding DVA and tax benefit were $0.60 per share.
Its revenue rose to $8.6 billion, from $8.52 billion. Its adjusted sales came in at $8.52 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.55 per share on revenue of $8.22 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Dresser-Rand Group (NYSE: DRC) shares shot up 12.76 percent to $66.13 on Siemens takeover rumor.
Shares of Select Comfort (NASDAQ: SCSS) got a boost, shooting up 6.80 percent to $20.27 after the company beat top and bottom line estimates.
The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) shares were also up, gaining 4.16 percent to $210.13 after the company reported a 13% gain in its second-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year earnings outlook.
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) were down 13.71 percent to $93.03 after the company issued a downbeat current-quarter revenue outlook. SanDisk reported its Q2 earnings of $1.41 per share on revenue of $1.63 billion.
AutoNation (NYSE: AN) shares tumbled 7.41 percent to $56.32 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the second quarter.
Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) was down, falling 7.82 percent to $35.98 after the company reported a drop in its second-quarter earnings. Mattel’s quarterly profit fell to $28.3 million, or $0.08 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $73.3 million, or $0.21 per share.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.78 percent to $103.00, while gold traded up 1.32 percent to $1,317.00.
Silver traded up 1.90 percent Thursday to $21.17, while copper rose 0.12 percent to $3.22.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.94 percent, the Spanish IBEX Index dropped 1.17 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index tumbled 2.21 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 1.07 percent and the French CAC 40 dropped 1.21 percent while UK shares fell 0.68 percent.
Economics
Construction on new US houses fell 9.3% to an annual rate of 893,000 in June. However, economists were expecting a rate of 1.02 million.
US jobless claims declined by 3,000 to 302,000 in the week ended July 12. However, economists were estimating claims to reach 310,000 in the week.
US Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to 23.90 in July, versus a prior reading of 17.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of 16.00.
Natural-gas supplies rose 107 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 11, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were estimating a gain of 95 bcf to 99 bcf.
Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Commodities Economics Federal Reserve
